


The Session

by JLaLa



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Complete, F/M, Therapist!Peeta, addiction!Katniss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-16
Updated: 2016-01-08
Packaged: 2018-04-26 14:45:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5008732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JLaLa/pseuds/JLaLa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You have that look in your eyes, Katniss. Like you’re hungry but you can never seem to get full.” Katniss had one last chance to kick her addiction—and it came in the form of therapist, Peeta Mellark. </p><p>Day Four from Tumblr's Prompts in Panem 'Farewell Tour'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**_The characters of The Hunger Games Trilogy do not belong to me._ **

The Session

**Session #1**

She showed up in the late afternoon, a bag of Lays potato chips in one hand and a Mexican Coke in the other.

Peeta had just finished up with his last scheduled client, Haymitch—a man whose alcoholism had led to the loss of his house and the deterioration of his marriage. He had quite a way to go but Haymitch wasn’t the first person that Peeta dealt with that had that sort of addiction—and he wouldn’t be the last.

“The office is closed,” Peeta told the girl as she stood in his doorway.

The woman wrapped her thick, fur coat around herself. “The court sent me.” She walked over, her gait graceful even in the thin heels of her knee-high boots. “I’m Katniss Everdeen.”

Reaching into the pocket of her coat, she held out a piece of paper to him.

Peeta looked at the court summons; his name was on it. Going through the appointment book that his secretary Delly kept on her desk, he looked for Katniss’ name before once again meeting her eyes.

“You were supposed to come this morning,” he told her. “I have a busy schedule, Miss Everdeen and I’m not willing to help you if you can’t respect our time—”

“Please!” Katniss placed her hand on his, pulling back quickly as if his skin burned. “I need to do this. I need to get help.” Her eyes were full of desperation, tears making her grey eyes shine even in the dimness of the afternoon light. “I didn’t come this morning…because the urge. It happened _again_.”

He could see that she was suffering. Her hands were trembling and even now, Peeta could see the sheen of sweat on her forehead. Katniss toyed with her long, dark braid; her movements nervous as he examined her.

Sighing, Peeta went to the door of his office.

Looking at the troubled woman, he extended his hand to the now-open door.

“Come in.”

++++++

Katniss removed her coat and he was surprised to see her clothing in such shambles. The camel-colored sweater she wore was practically falling apart as it hung off her tired frame. The boots she wore were also on the brink of disrepair.

He nodded toward the couch in front of his chair. “Sit.”

Katniss grinned at his directness. “Bossy. I like it.” Her face fell seeing the frown on his face and she sat down quickly. “I’m sorry. I can’t turn it off sometimes.”

“That’s why you’re here,” Peeta responded bluntly. “You were arrested, Katniss.”

“I know,” she retorted. “The night in jail wasn’t pleasant.”

“What exactly do you want to get out of this?” he asked her as he sat down in the chair across from her.

Katniss looked around the small office for a moment. It was plain with beige walls and white borders. There were no photographs, only his doctorate on his display next to the lone bookshelf.

The room was desolate—just like her.

“I don’t want to be alone,” she responded after a moment. “Because of this, I can’t have a stable relationship. I’m isolated. Since I hit puberty, there has been this urge every waking moment of my life.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I was arrested for attempted prostitution.”

Peeta met her eyes. “And, you weren’t attempting?”

“No, it was just a misunderstanding.” She shook her head. “There was someone that used to help me with this problem.”

“What happened to him?” he asked curiously.

Katniss was the first case of sexual dysfunction that he had ever been given.

At twenty-five, Peeta had started his practice taking cases ranging from anxiety to PTSD. Five years in, his clientele had an even more varying array of social issues. Business was at an all-time high, especially since taking on cases referred by the state.

He thought that he had seen it all.

“What tends to happen to everyone eventually,” Katniss said. “He fell in love and wanted more. Gale was my best friend and though I didn’t love him that way, I would’ve said yes. But, I just don’t have it in me to be monogamous. I’d get the urge and next I’d find myself at some party or bar looking elsewhere for it. I couldn’t do that to him. Eventually, he married a beautiful, sweet girl and now they have a son.”

Peeta felt a pang of sympathy for her. Normalcy was what every client of his wanted. Why should Katniss be any different? He saw tears building up in her smoky eyes and Peeta grabbed a box of tissues to place it on the coffee table between them.

He waited for her to wipe her eyes before continuing, “So then what?”

“There were others—I met them at clubs or dive bars,” she explained. “I tried to tell myself that each time was the last time. But then, it would come back. That ache…that hunger…and I was back at square one.” Katniss opened the bag of chips she brought and began to eat frantically. “Then, it happened.”

Peeta watched her finish off the bag before twisting off the cap of the Coke bottle.

“What happened?”

Katniss sat back, her hand going to her stomach.

He could see it then—the tell-tale bulge.

“What am I going to do about this?” Katniss looked down at the small bump and Peeta heard the tight pain in her voice. “How am I going to tell my child that I don’t know who their father is?” She took in a sharp breath and met his eyes. “Because there were just too many.”

++++++

**Session #2**

“Tell me about your early life,” Peeta requested.

This week, Katniss had been on time. She was less amped as he noted to himself mentally.

Meetings once a week were his usual basis to start and it gave him enough time to make an assessment. Then as time went on, he could make a judgment call as to whether or not more time would be necessary.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Katniss said. She wore a loose, black t-shirt dress and burgundy stockings as well as the same thin boots from their last session. “That I had a fucked-up childhood. Father gone, mother abusive…am I right?”

“I’m not here to judge,” he told her. “I just want you to talk to me.”

“I’m starving,” she responded instead. “Do you have anything to eat?”

“I don’t usually bring food to the office.” Peeta got up from his chair. “I can ask Delly—”

“Can we just go somewhere and get something to eat?” she countered. “It doesn’t matter where we talk as long as I’m talking, right?”

“It’s unprofessional,” he responded.

“You’re my therapist or whatever.” Katniss put a hand to her stomach. “Aren’t you supposed to make sure that I’m taken care of?”

It wasn’t his usual method of doing things but Peeta could see that despite the swollen stomach, his client was a waif. So after a moment, he nodded in agreement.

“There’s a diner about a block away,” he told her. “Breakfast. Then, we talk.” Katniss stood up, grabbed her tote bag and pulled out a knit cap to place atop her wavy hair. He caught sight of the thinness of her shirt. “Did you walk here like that?”

“I have one sweater,” Katniss groused. “I couldn’t wear it again.”

Reaching for his coat, Peeta handed it to her. “Put this on.” He made sure that she put on the olive jacket before opening his office door. “I don’t care what you wear, but please dress for the weather next time.”

“I’m sorry.” Katniss followed him out into the waiting room where Delly sat at her desk. “I needed to catch the bus to get here.”

“If it’s an issue for you getting here then I’ll come to your place,” Peeta argued as he closed his office door. He looked to Delly. “We’ll be back in an hour.”

Delly looked at him warily but nodded anyway.

Walking out of the office entrance, Peeta rubbed his hands together. The sun was shining, but the remnants of winter still left the trees bare and the air frigid.

“Here.” Katniss grabbed his clasped hands with hers. He watched as she moved her bare hands against his for a moment before slowly moving away. “Better?”

Her touch was comforting and Peeta noticed that she seemed at ease. There were no signs of her being triggered by simple human contact.

“Thank you,” he told her evenly. “Though that was very inappropriate, you seem alright.”

“Peeta.” She met his eyes as they walked. “I have a sex addiction. Everything I do is inappropriate.”

He didn’t want to push the subject any further. “So, your family?”

“My parents were high school sweethearts,” Katniss began. “I was raised in Connecticut. I went to school there until high school. My mom was a former flight attendant-turned-secretary. My dad was a police officer. When I was eight, my mom had my sister Prim. She’s at UC Santa Barbara right now.”

“Do you talk a lot?” Peeta asked as they crossed the street to the diner.

“Prim and I are very close,” she responded, her hands tucked into the pockets of his coat. Looking ahead, he spied a sad smile on her lips. “She has no idea about this though—and I’m not about to tell her.”

Walking into the empty diner, they were seated immediately. Katniss quickly ordered—pancakes with bacon and a decaf coffee. He had an orange juice and bagel.

“That’s it?” she asked as the waitress walked away.

Peeta steered the questions away from himself. “How about your parents? Where are they now?”

“Both gone,” Katniss informed him. “My dad had a heart attack when I was in my third year of college and my mom died about two years after that due to cancer. It’s like in Harry Potter—one couldn’t live without the other or something like that.”

“Was that when the problem started?” he dared to ask.

“I think I always had the urge.” She stopped as the waitress delivered their drinks. “I was always curious about love and sex. But, isn’t every teenager? I do remember thinking that I would never live up to my parents’ relationship.”

Katniss stopped, her elbows resting on the table as she leaned towards him and gave him a smile.

“Are you analyzing me right now?” she asked. “Yes, my parents gave me high expectations and maybe I just kept on looking for their kind of love in everyone I came across.”

“I think that you have a hard time differentiating between love and sex,” Peeta told her. “Perfectly normal. However, people will usually limit in experimentation—but you don’t. You overindulged.”

She stared at him for a long moment as he roved over her features. Her eyes were almond-shaped, deep, and dark. The color went well with her rich olive skin. Peeta didn’t deny that she was beautiful but there was something else in her eyes.

“Anything else?” she asked as the waitress placed their respective plates down in front of them.

Meeting her eyes, he gave her his honest opinion:

“You have that look in your eyes, Katniss. Like you’re hungry but you can never seem to get full.”

++++++

**Session #3**

Katniss hurriedly pulled him into her apartment, closing the door with a loud slam. For some reason, she was panicked so Peeta thought it best that he let her lead him to her burgundy couch.

Taking his hand, Katniss placed it to her stomach. “Something is happening.”

Peeta waited, finally feeling the small movement under his palm. Her child was moving. He couldn’t help but smile to himself at the fluttering. The human body was an amazing entity. However as Peeta looked up, he noticed the pensive look on her bare face.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as he reluctantly pulled his hand away from her stomach.

“There’s a baby in there.” Katniss sat back and gave him a smile. “I just never felt it move like that.”

He nodded before moving a bit on the small couch. “Thank you for sharing that moment with me.”

There was a tension in her grey eyes and Peeta noticed her chewing on her lower lip.

Her urge had returned.

“Take three deep breaths,” he instructed.

Katniss closed her eyes and Peeta moved a little further to give them both the space they needed. He watched her take three slow inhales, her hands trembling before she rested them to the prominent bump. It seemed that every other week, her child would grow an inch or two.

When her eyes opened, Peeta could see the calmness in them. “Better?”

She nodded. “How did you do that?”

“You had a mild panic attack from what I gauged,” he explained. “Learning to deep breathe can help you during moments like that.” Peeta sat back to make sure that she was feeling better. “Whenever you feel panic or depressed, what do you do?”

“I…I…I try to distract myself,” Katniss told him, her eyes staring straight ahead. “I go out and grab a drink to relax.” She stopped after a moment. “I find someone to distract me.”

“You have a hard time trying to emote, don’t you?” Peeta asked and she nodded.

“I was never good at just explaining myself,” she explained sheepishly. “As you grow up, everyone expects you to be able to guard your emotions appropriately.” Katniss looked to him, her grey eyes clouded. “I think that I just got too good at being on guard.”

“People have their vices,” he assured her, seeing the downtrodden look on her face. “Some drink, some smoke, or eat—you have your particular way of dealing with your emotions.”

Katniss looked to her stomach, a thickness in her voice. “I’m so tired, Peeta.”

Peeta stood up and sat on her coffee table so he could look into her eyes. “Like all addictions, this is not going to be easy to overcome. There are no drugs that guarantee putting a stop to someone’s alcoholism or overeating, or even an addiction like yours. But there are other treatments—like the cognitive ones. That’s why I’m here.”

She nodded shakily. “I know.”

He let her calm down for a moment before continuing the session. “Do you want to continue?”

“Yes.” Katniss rested back on the sofa. She considered him for a moment. “You can sit on the couch. I’m not going to try to hump your leg or anything.”

Peeta snorted, attempting to hide his chuckle. He went to sit down on the sofa, a throw pillow’s distance away.

“Do you want to see pictures of the little whale?” Katniss asked him after a moment.

He realized that he himself was mentally exhausted.

Baby steps. That’s what they needed.

Peeta nodded, giving her a smile. “Sure.” Excitedly, Katniss reached into the drawer of the coffee table. “But don’t expect me to know which end is up.”

“Oh, trust me.” Katniss sat back, her feet folding under her bottom. “My first sonogram, I couldn’t even see it. It was like searching for a pearl in the dark ocean of my uterus.”

This time he couldn’t help but laugh.

Katniss looked to him suddenly. “You should laugh more. It’s nice to hear. I think the baby reacts when he or she hears it.”

Before Peeta could react, she went back to sort the sonogram photos in chronological order.

++++++

**Session #4**

“What was your first kiss like?”

Today, they were in his office. Katniss was wrapped in a fluffy blanket that she had brought with her. She had also gifted him with a painting that she had done during her college years; it depicted a field of dandelions and he reminded himself to ask her about the inspiration behind it.

For now, it was hanging next to the door of the office at her insistence. She had even brought the hammer and nails.

“My first kiss? Or the first time I enjoyed one?” she responded.

Peeta noticed that she was a lot more comfortable despite the growth of the baby. He guessed that she was at least in her fifth month of pregnancy.

Katniss definitely glowed.

“If you tell me then I’ll tell you.” She grinned crookedly at him.

Peeta shrugged. “Alright. I was twelve and her name was Trisha. She tasted like Bubblicious gum and she even got some in my hair.”

“Sounds like a real keeper,” Katniss remarked with a smirk. She toyed with the blanket before finally meeting his eyes. “I was sixteen. His name was Marvel and it was…sweet.”

“Sweet?”

“Yeah,” she continued. “Very vanilla. No tongue or anything like that. Marvel was my lab partner in chemistry class and one day, he came over to study. We were in my room and I sat next to him on my bed.” Katniss met his eyes. “The urge was intermittent and it seemed normal enough. That night, it came full force. The air in the room got warm and my skin tingled being so close to him.”

“It actually sounds very romantic,” Peeta said with a smile.

Katniss shook her head. “There were no fireworks and it barely happened. I was disappointed. I wanted more.” She seemed to war in her head, trying to figure out the best words to convey her feelings. “It was like I had this itch and he didn’t quite know where to scratch.”

“Okay, how about a kiss that you actually enjoyed?”

She met his eyes squarely. “You first.”

“We shouldn’t trade stories,” he stated.

“It’s not fair that you know so much about me,” Katniss argued with a petulant pout. “If you expect me to trust you with the intimate parts of my life, then you have to give me something, too.”

Peeta frowned. “This isn’t a hangout, Katniss. This is a session with your therapist, nothing more.”

As he spoke, Peeta could feel something inside falter seeing the despair in her face. What was it about Katniss Everdeen that made him want to forego everything that he was taught? He wanted to comfort her and share things with her just like a bo—

Closing the notebook on his lap, Peeta met her eyes as he rose from his chair. “I think we need to end for now.”

“I’m sorry.” Katniss stood up and went to him. “I’ll tell you! I promise—”

Shaking his head, he mustered up the best smile that he could.

“I am not mad. I’m just tired.”

She shook her head, pained tears filling her eyes. “You are mad!”

Sighing, Peeta went to the bookshelf and pulled out a stack that he found while he was rummaging through his garage.

“I was thinking about your little pearl,” Peeta started as she sniffled in front of him. “Every kid should have a good set of bedtime stories.”

She took the set of books from his hands and pressed them to her chest. “Can we continue?” Her eyes looked to his full of hope and for a moment, he considered continuing the session.

The way Katniss made his chest ache quickly changed his mind.

“Not today.” Peeta led her to the door. “We’ll have a longer session next time.”

Opening the door, Katniss walked out listlessly and gave him one final doe-eyed stare before he closed it more abruptly than he had intended.

He pressed his forehead to the wooden door, still feeling the warmth of her.

Peeta liked her more than he was willing to admit.

“What the hell are you doing?”

++++++

Peeta sat up, half-asleep and shocked by the jarring sound of his ringtone. He scrambled to pick up the phone, throwing his glasses on.

“Hello?” He looked to the clock on his side table: _2:00 AM_.

“Peeta?” Her voice caused a ripple to run through his spine. “It’s Katniss. I need you.”

He could hear the sound of the streets in the background. “Where are you?”

“I’m at this bar,” she explained. “I wasn’t going to drink…it just happened and I found myself over here.”

Katniss told him the address; the bar was four blocks away from his house. “Wait for me.”

Hanging up, Peeta quickly got dressed and rushed out the door to the room across the hall. Knocking impatiently, he waited until his bronze-haired roommate answered the door.

“Can I borrow your car?” Peeta asked quickly.

Finnick yawned and nodded. Behind him in bed, his girlfriend Annie slept soundly.

“Keys are on the hook next to the front door,” the man replied. “You’re taking your work home with you, Peeta. It’s not right.”

“Katniss is my friend,” he responded simply before rushing downstairs.

++++++

Stepping out of the car, Peeta looked around the outside of the bar. There were a few stragglers, some smoking cigarettes. He surveyed the area, desperate to find Katniss. He realized that he had left his house without his wallet and couldn’t get in without his ID.

“Peeta.”

Turning, he found her across the street, sitting on a stoop of a brownstone. She was wearing a crop leather jacket and a burgundy empire dress that hid her stomach. Peeta had been worried; she had not contacted him during his free week. Katniss never did, but he held onto a sliver of hope that she would call.

That she would say something.

Anything, really.

Sitting next to her, Peeta waited for her to speak.

“It started in the evening,” Katniss began quietly. “I tried to breathe like you told me to and that worked for a while. Then, I couldn’t eat and started to feel warm…down there. My obstetrician explained that my hormones would be in overdrive especially during this trimester.”

“Did you explain your situation?” he asked her.

Katniss wrapped her arms around herself. “How do I explain sex addiction to my doctor?” She turned to him. “Let’s be real, Peeta. Would you think that someone like me would make a good mother?”

“Don’t say things about yourself like that,” Peeta replied. “You’re a good person.”

She laughed bitterly. “My therapist thinks I’m a good person. It’s what you’re supposed to say.”

“I’m off the clock,” Peeta responded. “I, Peeta Mellark, think that you’re a good person and you’re going to be a good mother. You’ve been trying very hard to get the help you need.”

Katniss nodded, remaining silent as she looked out at the people across the street.

“I knew I didn’t belong there,” she said to him. “I wanted to stop the sensation but every time a guy even approached me, I saw myself letting that stranger touch me…and knowing that my baby was right in-between us.” Katniss crumbled in front of him. “I knew that I would rather suffer than let anyone near the one person that is precious to me.”

Carefully, he put an arm around her shoulders. “I’m proud of you.”

“I don’t think that there is anything to be proud of.”

Katniss began to sob and he knew that this was long expected. Years of repressed feelings—of anxiety and stress over her condition—had finally come to a head. Peeta let her cry against him until there was nothing left to do but guide her back to the car.

She fell asleep quickly as he drove.

At the stoplight, he turned to look at Katniss. She was obviously exhausted but the crying had caused her lips to relax in a peaceful smile.

He told himself to note in her file for the court that today was Katniss Everdeen’s breakthrough.

++++++

“His name was Cato,” Katniss said as she sat on his couch, her hands holding his alma mater mug. “I met him in college and his kiss was the first one that ever really made my toes curl. Even being next to him was electrically charged.”

“Sounds like a fairy tale,” he responded as sat down next to her.

“It was,” she admitted. “I felt full of love—and then my dad died.” Katniss met his eyes. “It felt like every bit of me was drained away. I was so desperate to feel that fullness again. So a few days after the funeral, Cato and I…”

Katniss stopped to take a sip from her cup of hot chocolate.

“The first time wasn’t good,” Katniss said. “But of course, no one’s first time ever is. Cato said that if we kept on going that it would get better and I agreed. Sex kept me distracted from the pain. Sex felt good and every time I had a bad day, it’s what we would do. Some people open a beer at the end of the day…I’d shag my boyfriend till I couldn’t move.”

“So instead of confronting your pain after your dad died, you took all of that and put it into something else,” Peeta mused thoughtfully.

“I guess,” she replied. “I was in love and so I thought nothing of it. Or at least I thought I was.” Katniss set down the mug on the table. “Cato was a football player and he had an overnight game. So he left for a two-day bus trip. I thought that I could take it.”

Toying with her hair, she dragged her fingers through her loose waves.

“At night, I couldn’t sleep and the pain returned. I started to think of my dad and that draining feeling came back. Nothing kept me satisfied,” Katniss reasoned. “I went to a bar and met up with some friends. One of them was Cato’s friend, Gloss. I went home with him that night.”

“Then?”

“Cato came home early.” Katniss’ eyes filled with tears. “He missed me too much. How did I repay him? I fucked his roommate.”

“I’m willing to guess that didn’t go well,” Peeta responded.

“No, we broke up,” she said in a tight voice. “And, I was basically labeled the big college whore. I pretty much locked myself in my room at that point. My mom tried to talk to me but I pushed her away. Then she was gone, too. There was no one left to keep me in check. By then, Prim had left for Santa Barbara.”

“So you were completely alone,” he concluded as her head went to his shoulder.

Peeta told himself that they were not on the clock. Any pathetic reason to hold onto this moment between him and Katniss—he wanted time to stand still.

“You were right,” Katniss told him. “I could never seem to get full.” Her hand went to her stomach. “Until now, I think.”

“I was wrong,” Peeta admitted. “Yes, you feel empty but it’s because you never had the chance to fill those empty spaces inside with the things that make you…” He met her eyes. “…you.”

Katniss moved in closer. “I…I don’t know who I am.”

“Exactly. How do you heal when you don’t even know what parts of you are hurt?” he responded softly, trying desperately to not press his nose into her hair.

They went silent, trying to quell the electricity in the room.

She suddenly turned to him, resting her chin on his shoulder.  “I didn’t know you wore glasses.”

“I wear them at night for reading or driving,” Peeta explained, his face growing warm under the thick black frames.

“They’re very hipster,” Katniss told him with a grin. “I like them.”

“Thank you,” he responded with a smile. “And, I got these glasses before they were cool.”

“That’s what hipsters say,” she retorted. “You’re smiling again.”

“I know.” Peeta shrugged. “There’s nothing I can do about it now.”

She took his hand and placed it to her stomach. “The baby is up.”

He could feel the baby’s energetic movement under his palm and something inside his chest leapt at the thought that Katniss’ child knew how he felt about its mother.

“I brought one of the books you gave me. It’s in my bag,” Katniss told him. “Will you read to us?”

Nodding, he reached into her bag and pulled out the small book. He looked at the title and gave her a smile.

“You picked my favorite,” he told her. “My Dad used to read _The Velveteen Rabbit_ to me before he left for trips.”

“Where are your parents now?” she asked.

“They live in Florida.” Peeta opened the book, his hands tenderly touching the worn pages. “My dad can barely remember me now—Alzheimer’s.” Clearing his throat, he made sure that she was comfortable before opening the book. “Are you feeling better?”

“Yes…thank you for sharing a little bit of yourself,” she whispered into his skin and he felt his temperature rise.

Peeta didn’t respond, instead going to the first page and beginning the story.

He kept on reading even when her hand covered his and she curled against him, leaving him aching for the first time in his life.

_“Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."_

Peeta stopped hearing her let out a small sniff against him.

It was then that he realized that he wanted to be real to Katniss.

He told himself that he would tell her in the morning.

However when he awoke, there was a note:

_Our sessions are over. –Katniss_

++++++

_Three Months Later…_

“Congratulations Haymitch.” Peeta shook the man’s hand. “Six months sober.”

“I’ve got a long way to go,” the man replied. “I also have a lot of groveling to do. Effie really is a saint.”

“She loves you,” he responded. “As long as you put in the work like she does, you’ll both do fine. I’ll have Delly give you some recommendations for marriage counselors along with your release letter.”

Together, the two men went to the waiting room where Peeta gave Delly the final instructions for Haymitch.

“Peeta.” Delly handed him a piece of paper. “Urgent message for you.”

Opening the paper, Peeta skimmed the information before looking to his secretary.

“Cancel the rest of my day,” he told her before walking out the door.

++++++

Peeta nervously held the small bouquet of dandelions in his hand. Surprisingly, the florist close to his office had what he needed and had even wrapped the delicate bunch in a silk red ribbon.

Standing outside the door to the room, he hesitated for a moment. She had left the message asking for him yet Peeta didn’t want to intrude on her space. Also, there was the possibility that what Katniss had to say was not good. Their ending was not bad but it wasn’t good either.

In fact, Peeta was surprised by the amount of pain he felt in her absence.

The door opened and an older woman in light blue scrubs stepped out, giving him a smile when she spotted him.

“You must be her young man,” the nurse said. “I think they’ve both stayed up for your visit.” She held the door open for him. “Go on in.”

Tentatively Peeta entered, walking against the thin barrier curtain.

Peeking inside, he took in the sight in awe.

Sitting up in the hospital bed was Katniss and in her arms was the small swaddled bundle that was her child. Sunlight streamed in through the half-closed blinds, beaming onto the mother and child.

They were beautiful.

“Don’t be a stranger.” Katniss looked up at him with a shy smile. She looked exhausted, her hair akimbo and dark circles under her eyes. However, she looked happier than he had ever seen her. “Come meet my son.”

He walked over to the head of the hospital bed. “Long time no see.”

She met his eyes. “Did you miss me?”

“Yes,” Peeta told her, his gaze never leaving hers except to gaze tenderly at her little boy. Katniss’ looks were clearly dominant as the newborn had her dark hair and olive skin. “I missed you both.”

“Come sit next to me,” she demanded and Peeta lowered the bed rail so he could move onto the side of the hospital bed. Her eyes went back to the sleeping baby. “He’s beautiful, isn’t he?” Her fingers caressed her son’s cheek. “From the moment he was in my arms, I knew nothing would ever make my life as full as being his mother.”

“He’s gorgeous.” Peeta’s finger went to the newborn’s cheek. He had thick, dark hair similar to Katniss’ and a pert little nose that was also from his mother. “Nothing like his father, I’m sure.”

“I don’t see any of ol’ what’s-his-face in this kid,” Katniss informed him. “He is all me.” She held the baby out to Peeta. “Hold him.”

Peeta instinctually moved away but Katniss took hold of his forearm. “I’m not sure.”

“You don’t scare him,” she assured him. “He recognizes you.”

Carefully, Katniss placed her son in Peeta’s arms. The blanketed baby squirmed for a moment before settling his head against Peeta. The feeling of the child on his chest made something inside soar; he knew that Katniss’ son already had a place in his heart just like his mother.

“Congratulate me.” Katniss gave him a smile. “Six months of non-sexual contact.” She looked to her son. “After I posted bail and was sentenced, I found out about the baby. I knew I had to get help…for both of us. Then you saved us.”

Peeta met her eyes. “You saved yourself and your son.” Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, feeling her sigh against his skin. “Congratulations.”

Her eyes opened as he pulled away, her grey eyes shining.

“The reason I left was because I started to feel _it_ come up again,” she explained.

“We’ve worked on this,” he told her as he rocked her child. “You know exactly was to do in a situation like that. I’m confident in that.”

Her eyes dashed downwards. “It wasn’t that kind of urge.”

Peeta lifted her chin to look into her eyes. He realized that it was a different kind of urge. A different kind of hunger. It was the kind of want that spoke of holding hands and long conversations, of trust and affection—and hopefully one day—love.

“I like you,” he told her.

She grinned through her tears. “I like you back.”

The baby yowled and instinctively Peeta continued his gentle motions before kissing the little one’s cheek. “What’s his name?”

The baby gazed up at him, light blue eyes greeting him. Peeta felt that rush of love for the baby. Katniss and he were his just as Peeta was theirs—if they would have him one day.

“I don’t know,” Katniss responded, her head going to his shoulder. “Maybe if you aren’t busy later on, we can have a session on baby names.” He watch her eyes flutter close. “I don’t know if you realize but having a baby is exhausting.”

Making sure that the baby was safe and sound asleep, Peeta kissed the top of her head.

“We’ll figure it out together.”

His eyes closed, the fatigue taking their little family over, and soon they slept.

* * *

 

 ***** Quote from _The Velveteen Rabbit_ by Margery Williams

 


	2. You Jump, I Jump

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peeta and Katniss want to move forward in their relationship. With the help of counselor, Johanna Mason, they just might find their way.

Thank you for voting! Y’all are awesome. So as requested, here is the follow-up.

The characters of The Hunger Games trilogy do not belong to me.

You Jump, I Jump

_Six Months Later…_

Peeta peeked through the doorway, seeing the young woman in a rocking chair with the dark-haired baby resting in her lap, his head on his mother’s chest as she read from the book.

“ _‘She cast her fragrance and her radiance over me,’” Katniss read softly. “‘I ought never to have run away from her... I ought to have guessed all the affection that lay behind her poor little stratagems. Flowers are so inconsistent! But I was too young to know how to love her...’_ ”

He let out a quiet cough and she met his eyes, smiling softly at Peeta before looking to Kalen, whose eyes fluttered before closing in exhaustion.

“I’m afraid that you’ve lost your audience tonight.” Peeta walked over just as Katniss stood up. She gently placed her son in his arms before going to the single shelf of the nursery to place the book back before joining him at Kalen’s crib. “‘The Little Prince’ is a little mature for him, don’t you think?”

“There is no age limit on French philosophy,” Katniss retorted with a small grin. She took the green blanket that Annie, his former roommate’s fiancée, had given Kalen and placed it over his tiny body. “I can’t believe that he’s six months old.”

Peeta put an arm around her shoulders and Katniss rested her head against him as they looked down at the little boy. He could hardly believe that they were in his life, filling it with the sunshine that he realized that he wholly lacked. He turned to press a kiss to Katniss’ soft hair, letting her sigh of contentment seep into him and causing that familiar ache to take over.

“Let’s go,” he said quietly and she nodded in agreement as she switched on the baby monitor. His hand went to Kalen’s dowdy hair and his heart swelled when the baby’s lips lifted in a sleeping smile. “Good night, Little Prince.”

Katniss’ fingers entwined with his as they walked to the doorway. He turned off the light and then closed the door just slightly.

Together, they walked down the upstairs hallway of their small home.

The white walls were decorated simply with pictures of Kalen from the last six months, the first one being of the three of them in the hospital. Peeta’s smile was nervous as he held the little boy in his arms. The picture was taken just after they had decided on his name. Delly, his assistant, had gifted them with a book of baby names and together they searched until Katniss spotted the perfect one.

 _Kalen_.

And, when Peeta read the meaning, he heartily agreed—‘ _Pure_ ’.

They stopped at the end of the hall and Katniss turned to him, her smoky eyes expectant.

“Well, here’s my stop,” she joked.

Peeta’s mouth quirked, his fingers reaching to cradle her chin before he leaned down to press the kiss that they both eagerly anticipated each night. Katniss sank against him, her warm palm going to his chest before moving to the back of his neck, drawing him down eagerly for more.

Peeta could feel the blood traveling south and reluctantly he pulled away. They both gasped for breath, their eyes reflecting the hunger they obviously felt.

Every night, it has been like this.

They had done what was necessary.

Katniss had gone back to court, being cleared of all charges after Thresh, Peeta’s friend and lawyer, reviewed her attempted prostitution case and declared the reports completely lacking in evidence. Peeta had withdrawn from being her therapist as she no longer needed his specific help.

Their relationship was no longer professional as it had been.

Katniss started working as a waitress part-time at the diner close to his practice. The rest of her time was spent working from home processing invoices for a manufacturing company about thirty minutes away while she took care of Kalen. When Peeta got home, he would take over baby duty as Katniss rested or started dinner.

Finnick, his former roommate, had shaken his head when Peeta told him how he and Katniss were moving in together. He worried that Peeta was getting into a lot of heartache and taking on more than he should be.

The truth of the matter was that Katniss and Kalen were the only thing that Peeta had thrown all caution to the wind for.

He was in love with them both.

Katniss smiled the smile that made it harder for him to not want to cross the threshold to her room.

“You’re blushing,” she told him, her voice low and purring.

“After a kiss like that, how could I not?” he responded.

“ _‘When someone blushes, doesn't that mean 'yes'?’_ ”

“Only you would use a children’s book as an argument,” Peeta told her. He kissed her quickly before going to his closed doorway. “Goodnight, Katniss.”

Katniss sighed, turning to her door. “Goodnight Peeta.”

Quickly, he went into his room, closing himself in before resting his head back against the door.

It was getting harder to say no.

++++++

A few minutes later, a knock sounded on his door and Katniss entered. She was in a pair of white pajamas, her wavy hair resting on her shoulders.

“I know that we agreed that we shouldn’t go into each other’s rooms right now,” she started. “But, we really need to talk.”

Peeta, who sat in his bed, nodded. “Alright, have a seat.” He had been thinking about their situation since he changed into his own sleeping clothes.

Maybe it was the fact that Kalen had officially turned six months old, but the milestone gave way to other questions.

“Okay.” Katniss sat down at the end of the bed. “You and I have been…together since Kalen and I got home from the hospital. It’s been wonderful and I don’t know what I would’ve done without you beside me. And, I just wanted to tell you—” She looked down at his comforter before meeting his eyes nervously. “Peeta, I love you. I know it might not mean much from someone like me, but I mean it. I just want to move forward, whatever that may be.”

She loved him. The thought was elating as there had been many moments during warm embraces when he wanted to tell her the same.

“Come here,” he beckoned after a moment. Katniss crawled over into his awaiting arms and he enfolded her against him, feeling the rapid beats of her heart. Or, was it his? “How could one sentence turn my world upside down?” She looked up at him and he sighed seeing her sweet smile. “Say it again.”

“I love you,” Katniss whispered, her doe-eyes unwavering.

Peeta stamped a kiss on her soft lips. “I love you back.”

Katniss adjusted herself until she was fully straddling him, her arms wrapping around his neck.

“Okay, so when are you going to sleep with me?”

“Never one to hold back, were you?” Peeta replied.

“I’m a recovering sex addict,” she told him bluntly. “Everything is all out on the table. Like you could totally have me right on a table.” He held in his laugh. “But, really. Is it just me who is feeling this?”

“No,” he assured her. “Trust me when I tell you that this is very hard—literally—on me.” Katniss waited, knowing that there was more. “But, this is a tenuous road for both of us. I mean, I was your therapist and you were my client.”

“And, we’re never going to forget that,” Katniss said in exasperation. “But, we’re not going to move forward if we don’t jump. I want to jump and I want you to jump with me.” She took his face in her hands. “You jump, I jump.”

“And, now you’re quoting ‘Titanic’?” Peeta said with a grin. “Katniss Everdeen, because I love you, I’m going to jump with you.”

“And, because you want me, too.”

“And, because I want you, too,” he told her and let out a slow breath as she moved atop him. “You wouldn’t believe how much.”

“I have a good idea,” Katniss retorted. “So, we’ll figure it out.”

“Do you want to sleep here?” Peeta suggested. He pulled back the opposite side of the comforter. “We can put a pillow between us.”

Katniss chuckled before scooting off and going to her new side.

“Like that’s going to stop me.”

++++++

**_Session #1_ **

Their solution came in the form of Johanna Mason.

Johanna was a relationship counselor who Peeta often referred his clients to. Haymitch Abernathy, a former client of his and Effie, Haymitch’s wife, were currently having sessions with the acclaimed counselor. He could say with confidence that Johanna’s track record was just about spotless when it came to giving couples the relationship breakdown.

Her personality was blunt and honest, but always determined to give each person the best solution for their situation.

She had also been Peeta’s former roommate, prior to Finnick, so he knew he could trust her.

Johanna also made house calls so they could stay home with Kalen.

The doorbell rang promptly at 5:00 PM, just as Kalen woke up from his nap and Katniss was finishing the last of her invoices. Peeta had arrived home early to clean up and help with baby duties as there were no patients scheduled for the day.

“I think you’ll have to greet your old friend alone,” Katniss said as she picked Kalen up from the bassinet. “This little boy has a wet diaper.”

“No worries.” They both went to the entryway where they separated so Katniss could head upstairs to the nursery and he could answer the door. “Johanna and I will see you both back down here after Kalen is nice and dry.” Peeta gave them both kisses before rushing to the door.

Opening it, he found Johanna dressed in her usual black suit and high heels.

She gave him a dry smile. “It’s about time that you answered the door. I thought that you up and skipped out on our session!” Rushing in, the woman looked around their small home. “I like it. It’s cozy. I get a good sense of family in here.”

“Well, that’s what we were going for,” Peeta replied anxiously. He led her into the living room, quickly cleaning up the papers on the coffee table and the onesies that he had been folding before she arrived. “Katniss is with Kalen upstairs, he just woke up from his nap—”

“Peeta, chill.” He looked to find Johanna grinning at him. “This is not an inquisition. This is a counseling session. You need to calm down.”

“I am calm.” Peeta sat on the couch as she took the armchair. “Don’t I look calm?”

“It’s not easy being in the other seat, is it?” Johanna asked and he nodded in agreement. She looked him over. “Well, you look better...happier than the last time we saw one another.”

“The last we saw each other, you were going to Europe,” he recalled with a relaxed grin. “You also had a bit of a Mohawk.”

Johanna fiddled with a bit of her short bob. “I grew out of the phase.” She sat back and peered at him. “So you’ve been involved with a bit of an addict…”

“Former,” he responded, his voice stony. “Her name is Katniss.”

“It’s good that you can separate her old self and her new self when you’re talking to someone,” Johanna responded easily to his curt tone. “But, why are you having issues separating her new self and old self in here?”

She pointed to her chest.

They went silent for a moment and Johanna quirked her head at him, a triumphant glint in her eyes.

This was why she was paid the big bucks.

“But, you love her,” she concluded and shook her head. “You crazy, stupid fool…”

The sounds of descending footsteps interrupted their discussion and Katniss walked in with Kalen in her arms. Their son was wide awake and Kalen’s gaze went to Peeta, his arms suddenly reaching out.

“Hey big boy,” Peeta greeted him as he took Kalen from Katniss’ arms. He smiled at Katniss before looking to Johanna. “Katniss, Kalen, meet Johanna Mason, our counselor.”

Katniss stepped forward and he could tell that she was anxious. Remnants of her old behavior came forth in her shaky hands and the slightness of breath. However, Peeta had faith that she knew what to do.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Johanna said as they all sat down. She looked Katniss over. “You’re very pretty, but I’m surprised. Peeta always looked for blondes in college.”

Katniss snorted, confidence in her tone. “He just didn’t know what he was missing.”

“A girl after my own heart,” Johanna responded. She crossed her legs and took a slow breath before gazing at Katniss once more. “So, let’s get down to it. You were a sex addict.”

“Don’t say that.” Katniss looked to Kalen who sat on Peeta’s lap, her eyes hardening. “Not in front of him.”

“Katniss, I’m not saying something that we all don’t already know,” Johanna responded bluntly. “And, I know that you want to put it behind you, but what happens when Kalen asks who his father is? How will you explain what was going on with you if you try so hard to forget?”

Katniss didn’t respond, only resting back and letting Peeta take her hand.

“Peeta loves you for the person you are and your son does, too. And, Kalen should know how much he means to you. He was the reason you decided to make the change—why you sought Peeta out. But, you should also know that even if Kalen didn’t come along, you are still a strong enough person to understand that you would’ve gotten the help you needed.”

Johanna gave them both a sympathetic smile.

“Do you still want continue?” she asked the couple.

Katniss wiped her eyes. “Yes.”

He nodded as well. “Yes.”

Kalen reached out to Johanna and instinctively the woman reached for him, pulling the baby onto her lap.

“How about we start from the beginning? Make things a little lighter,” Johanna told them. “Tell me what your first impressions were of one another.”

++++++

Later that evening, Johanna took a drag from her cigarette before looking to Peeta as they sat on the front porch.

“I like her,” she told her friend simply. “But, are you going to be okay?”

“If I have her, then I will be,” Peeta assured her. “It’s just that we’ve been talking lately…” His face heated as he prepared to open up the topic.

“You both want to screw each other,” Johanna said. “But, you’re afraid that she’s going to revert. She’s afraid that you’ll see her differently.”

“I wouldn’t put it so crudely,” he responded. “But, I would like to make love to Katniss.”

“There goes the L word again.” She took in another drag. “That means that it has to mean a little more to you. This isn’t about sex. It might have started that way, but this is about building something real.”

“Real?”

“You’re here pretending like you’re a normal couple,” Johanna stated. “You’re treating her son like he’s yours but, at night you tuck Kalen in then you sleep in different beds. And, you don’t think that’s going to be a problem when, let’s say, Kalen’s like four or five? When he has a nightmare whose room is he going to be running to? It’s going to be very confusing if this keeps going on.”

“Then, what do you suggest?”

“Become a real couple! Take Katniss out on a date, pretend you’re meeting for the first time,” she listed out to the man. “At least you can say that you loved her when you both were at your highest and when you were at your lowest.” She stopped, her dark eyes filming with tears. “At least you have the chance.”

“How are you?” he asked suddenly. “It’s been awhile since Enobaria—”

“She died, Peeta,” Johanna said, her voice hollow. “She got cancer and six months later, she was gone. If I had to reconcile myself then so should you.”

“I loved her, too.” Peeta looked out at the empty street. “And, she was a hell of a better roommate than you. You were different then, happier even.”

“And, damned if I wasn’t head over heels for that girl.” Johanna sighed to herself. “So my ‘assignment’ for you and Katniss is to create another story for yourself. You both have been going so fast—moving in together, raising Kalen…maybe you just need to slow down. Have a real romance.”

“I didn’t know you were the romantic type,” he said to his friend.

“Blame it on your smoky-eyed dame,” Johanna retorted. “She reminds me a little bit of Enobaria—that mixture of fire and hunger rolled into one. Like I said, give yourselves the opportunity to become something real.”

++++++

He found Katniss playing with Kalen on the carpet of the nursery. Sitting next to her, Peeta gave her a kiss before going to the little boy wriggling on the soft rug. He took Kalen’s tiny foot and blew into it causing a squeal to escape the baby’s lips.

Katniss let out a laugh just as Kalen did. Peeta stopped to look at her, so comfortable and happy in their own little world. Just watching her made his heart race like it never had before. No other woman had ever made him feel this way.

He knew then that in different circumstances they would’ve fallen in love.

“Can I ask you a question?” he said suddenly.

Katniss looked to him, a smile playing on her lips. “Of course.”

“If none of this happened, do you think you would’ve still fallen in love with me?”

She picked up Kalen before looking to him. “I think so.”

“How?” Peeta sat back against Kalen’s crib. “For example, how do you think we would have met?”

“I don’t know.” Katniss handed Kalen to him. “Something simple like our eyes would just meet somewhere and you’d smile at me and I’d smile at you…” She met his eyes, watching him carefully support Kalen in his arms. “I have a friend who said that in high school she went into one of the hallways and just happened to meet eyes with this one boy. He smiled at her and she smiled at him. Years later, they met and fell in love. I think it’s amazing that when she smiled at this boy, she had no inkling that she was smiling at her future husband.”

“That’s pretty cool,” he remarked. “You want to play a game with me?”

“We’re too old for games,” she retorted.

“Not for this one.”

Katniss smiled. She crawled over until her lips were grazing his. “I’m intrigued.”

“Then humor me,” he told her. Standing up, Peeta placed Kalen in his crib. The baby looked up at him, grey eyes curious. “You too, kiddo.”

Kalen put his fist in his mouth and laughed.

++++++

He saw on her the train when he first stepped in.

She was in a white button down and black pants, an apron on her waist. The girl’s thick hair was braided, falling over one shoulder and as she looked up briefly, he caught a glimpse of her eyes—a deep grey highlighting rich olive skin and rose colored lips.

Sitting across from her, he watched her fiddle with her phone, smiling over something on its screen—maybe from a picture or even a text.

Suddenly, her eyes met his.

Peeta smiled and her grin rose.

Carefully, he approached the girl sitting next to her on the emptying train.

“I just wanted to say that I’ve been watching you and I think you’re beautiful.”

“What?” Katniss looked at him in confusion. “Pee—”

“You see, I’ve never taken the train to work. But this morning, something inside told me I should,” he explained to the girl before him. “Something told me to leave an hour earlier than usual and get on a train.” He smiled once more. “I think it was so I could get into this very train and see you.”

“What are you doing?”

Peeta looked to her, hoping that she remembered to play their game—to humor him, just as she said she would last night.

A flash came to Katniss’ eyes and she was suddenly nodding back.

“I take this train every morning and it’s the first time I think I’ve looked up from my phone. It was your eyes that I caught. They’re a very intriguing set of blue. I think I saw them before I saw you.”

“Beautiful and poetic,” he responded before holding his hand out to her. “Peeta Mellark.”

She looked at his stretched-out hand for a moment before taking it. “Katniss Everdeen.”

They shook hands, both feeling the electricity rush through them.

There was a ding and Peeta stood up. “This is my stop. What restaurant do your work at?”

“The Hob,” she told him with an amused smile.

“Maybe I’ll see you there,” he told her as the train door opened.

Katniss waved at him. “Maybe.”

++++++

**_Session #2_ **

“So how did your assignment go?” Johanna asked the two.

“I say it went well,” Peeta said before looking to Katniss. “At least, I hope it did.”

“I forgot how it felt to be wooed,” Katniss responded. “There’s something exciting when meeting someone for the first time, getting that first rush of possibility.” She looked to their counselor, her eyes sobering. “Before, all someone had to do was hand me a drink and I was in their bed…”

“Katniss, it happened,” Johanna told her. “But, you helped yourself out of that situation. You sought help and you got more than that. You have a beautiful son who loves you and you have Peeta, who wants nothing but to give you happy endings and happy beginnings. Isn’t that the point of all of this?”

“You’re right.” Katniss turned to him. “You know when I first saw you, it reminded me of the first time we met. Your eyes, they were what got me.”

“It was your smile,” he told her. “That funny tilt of your lips whenever you were talking about something good like your parents or even Prim.”

“Thank you for telling me that,” she said in a whisper. “Thank you for meeting me again.”

“I think we’re making good progress,” Johanna told them. “So you’ve met. Where do you go from here?” She closed the notebook that she had been making notes in. “I want you to think about it and the next time we meet, I want to know how your first date went.”

++++++

“Hey Katniss,” Clove, her co-worker, called out as she counted the register till. “There’s someone asking for you.”

She looked up at the petite girl. “Who?”

“Cute blond at the table by the window.” Clove looked over her shoulder and Katniss gazed past her co-worker to see Peeta sipping coffee. “If I was into that sort of thing, he’d be mine.”

“Sorry.” Katniss smirked. “Met this one on the train a week ago so I’m staking claim.” Putting the money back into the register, she closed it before approaching the man by the window. “Thought you forgot about me.”

Peeta shook his head. “No, never.” He took a sip from his cup. “I’m a therapist and sometimes my patients need a little more time with me.”

“Then you must be a good one if they want to keep talking,” she responded with a small smile. “Is there anything else I can get you?”

“A date?” He looked up at her, his blue eyes anxious. “I got these reservations from one of my clients. His wife is a restaurateur and she just opened this new place about fifteen minutes from here.”

“Well, I’d love to.” Katniss looked around before sitting in the booth across from him. “The thing is that I have kid and I can’t leave him alone.”

“What if I found you a very trustworthy babysitter?” Peeta countered. “Would you go?”

“They’d have to be really trustworthy,” she told him. “And, I also don’t have anything to wear if this is a fancy place.”

He leaned forward, grinning excitedly. “Is that a yes?”

“If all the rules are met, then yes,” Katniss responded.

Peeta stood up, placing a five on the table for his coffee.

“I’ll see you at seven. Look under the table.”

She nodded, watching him leave before looking under the table.

It was a Neiman’s shopping bag.

++++++

“I can’t believe you’re making me watch this…” Johanna looked at Kalen who she held at arm’s length. “How much does he go?”

“We go through a few diapers,” Peeta said as he adjusted his tie in the mirror of the living room. “You’ve changed a diaper before, right?”

“Sure, millions of them,” she retorted. “I’ll figure it out if I need to! That’s what YouTube is for.”

Turning to Johanna and Kalen, he presented himself. “How do I look?”

“Very dashing,” Johanna told him as Kalen bounced in her arms. “I think he agrees.”

There was a soft cough and they turned to find Katniss standing at the archway of the living room. Peeta’s breath caught in his throat and behind him even Johanna let out an appreciative sigh at the beauty in front of them.

The dress was blush-colored, making her tanned skin luminous in the soft light of the living room. The sweetheart neckline was modestly covered by a lace overlay that capped off high on her upper arms. Katniss had let her hair down and her usually wavy hair was even more defined. One side was pulled back and clipped with a pearl hairpin as the other fell along her face.

“You are gorgeous,” Johanna told the woman before them.

“You stole my line!” Peeta exclaimed before going to her. “I’m just…overthrown.”

“I guess the dress worked then,” Katniss responded, her smile soft. “Navy looks good on you.” She leaned over to straighten his tie. “There. All set.”

“Both of you have a good time.” Johanna practically pushed them out the door. “The sooner you go, the sooner you come back to this…” She looked to Kalen, playing with her hair. “…he’s combing my hair.”

“He just getting to know you,” Katniss assured her. “You have our numbers.”

Soon, they were out the door leaving Johanna looking at the baby in her arms.

“You eat food, right?” she asked him.

Kalen put his fist in his mouth.

Johanna shrugged. “Good enough for me.”

++++++

“So you’ve only had one really serious girlfriend,” Katniss said as they sat their table.

The restaurant was crowded, but they were given a secluded booth in the back of the restaurant. They sat next to one another and were greeted with champagne as well as an amuse bouche upon arrival.

“Yes, we were in high school and were together for two years,” he explained.

“What happened?” she asked in curiosity.

“She came out,” Peeta told her in response. Katniss could see a hint of sadness in his eyes and her curiosity had her wondering whatever happened to Peeta’s high school sweetheart.

“And, then what?”

“Well, we moved in together,” he explained and she raised her brow in surprise. “We were still very good friends, still loved each other…and she was my first.”

“Oh.” Katniss fiddled with her napkin. “Was this in high school?”

“Prom,” he replied. “It was what the kids were doing, I guess.”

“Where is she now?”

“During our junior year in college, I made the mistake of introducing her to my lab partner.” Peeta said, his eyes lost in the past. “They fell madly in love with each other. I wasn’t mad. They were actually really good together.”

“Were?”

“Enobaria…a little after we graduated, she just got sick,” he told her quietly. “There was nothing we could do and she was gone six months later. Johanna hasn’t quite gotten over it—”

“Johanna? As in watching-our-child Johanna?” Peeta nodded and Katniss sat back on the cushioned back of their booth. “You think you know someone…” Her eyes went to him. “This is just making me realize how little I know about you.”

“And, your thoughts so far?” he asked.

“You’re a good man,” Katniss said as her head went to his shoulder. “And the more I know you, the more I think that I might be falling for you.”

“Neither of us is perfect,” he said into her ear. “But, that’s the great thing about love. You learn to love the imperfections and appreciate them because they’re what make a person who they are.”

The beginning chords of a song sounded in the restaurant and Peeta pressed a kiss into her floral-scented hair.

“Dance with me?” Katniss’ head shot up and he smiled hopefully at her. “I asked them to play our song.”

“We have a song?” she responded as Peeta slid out of the booth and offered his hand to her. “I wasn’t aware of that.”

The dance floor was under a crystalline chandelier in the middle of the restaurant which resembled a ballroom akin to one in the Versailles. The floor was made of polished wood and as they stepped onto it, Peeta twirled Katniss so that they faced one another.

_“Outside another yellow moon_

_punched a hole in the nighttime…”_

 

 Peeta wrapped an arm around her slim waist as her hand went to the top of his shoulder to begin their dance.

 

  _“You wave your hand and they scatter like crows_

_They have nothing that can capture your heart_

_They're just thorns without the rose_

_Be careful of them in the dark…”_

 

“How is this our song?” she asked into his shoulder.

 

_“Will I see you tonight on a downtown train?_

_Every night it's just the same, you leave me lonely now…”_

 

Katniss laughed softly, gazing up at him. “I get it now. Creative.”

They continued to move, losing themselves in the moment of pretending—the pretending to not be a couple who were a therapist and a client at first, where Katniss wasn’t recovering from an addiction, where they wouldn’t have to tell Kalen one day that they didn’t know who his father was if he asked.

However when their eyes met, Peeta could see that the look in Katniss’ eyes was real.

She loved him just as he loved her.

 

_“Will I see you tonight on a downtown train?_

_All of my tears just fall like rain, all upon the downtown train…”_

 

“Do you want to get out of here?” she asked, her eyes full of hunger.

This time, Peeta didn’t refuse.

Instead, he paid the bill and asked the waiter to give his regards to Haymitch and Effie Abernathy.

The waiter promised to tell the owners before watching the beautiful couple rush out of the restaurant.

++++++

She tasted of champagne.

Peeta’s lips traveled over Katniss’ flushed body as they moved in the backseat of the car. He could feel her center, hot against the strained fabric of his pants. His hands moved up her outer thighs and mewled against his neck.

“More,” she whispered into his ear.

Her plea shot up his spine and he groaned, aching to be inside her.

And, it was going to happen.

Except as Katniss reached for the zipper of his pants, he found himself putting his hand over hers to stop the motion.

She looked to him in question and Peeta could see the hurt in her eyes.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t beautiful or desirable. There was no doubt, just from his throbbing erection, that he wanted to be inside her.

But, it seemed all wrong.

“Stop,” he told her softly.

“Did I do something wrong?” she asked.

Peeta shook his head. “No, you’re perfect.” He gave her a gentle kiss. “But, this is supposed to be our first date.”

“Oh,” Katniss responded, pained realization on her pretty face. “And, I went too fast.”

“No—”

“It’s fine.” She moved off him. “We should go home. Johanna needs to be rescued.”

Katniss gave him a tremulous smile before going to the passenger seat in the front.

After calming down, Peeta joined her and started the engine so they could back out of the moon-filled park.

When they got home, Katniss was already rushing up the stairs and he winced, hearing her door slam.

Johanna who had just put Kalen to sleep joined him quickly at the bottom of the stairs. “What happened?”

“It was going to happen,” he explained. “And, then suddenly it just felt wrong.”

“I don’t understand,” his friend responded.

“When I was with her, I thought that I didn’t just want to make love to this woman and then just keep it at that,” Peeta admitted. “I wanted to make love to her, wake up with her every morning, have more children with her.” He sat down on the bottom step. “Our first time should be somewhere special and the back of a car wasn’t it.”

“Did you tell her all of this?”

“No,” he groaned. “I had a breakthrough mid-straddle instead.”

Johanna shook her head. “You are the worst at romance! Enobaria always said that.”

“She wooed you,” Peeta told her. “How’d she do it?”

“She told me that she’d jump with me,” his friend responded, thickness in her words.

He looked to Johanna, shocked at hearing the expression. “What?”

“Being together wasn’t going to be easy. We were going to have a lot of obstacles. But Enobaria said that we would hold each other’s hand and when the cliff seemed too high or the waters became too deep, we would jump together. Because if you love one another, Peeta—rules, conventions—they won’t matter. What matters is that you’re going to be there till the end. And, I was there, Peeta. I held her hand when she made that last jump. Because that’s what love is, even if you don’t know what’s going to happen—you still take the leap.”

++++++

“Peeta, what are you doing here?”

He knew that it was clear past midnight but the thoughts running through his mind kept him wide awake.

“I just needed to say a few things.” Approaching Katniss’ bed, he sat at the end of it. “Ever since you’ve come into my life, everything has been a crazy, jumbled mess and everyone has told me that we are hopelessly moronic for moving in together—”

“I get it,” Katniss responded as she sat up. She looked to him, wrapping her arms around herself. “I fucked up your life.”

“No, you gave me my life,” he told her. “Before you, my life was nothing but appointments and fixing everybody else’s hearts and minds.” Peeta smiled at her. “But with you and Kalen, I have two people who are always fixing me. You two got my heart working again.”

“Then why are you running away from me?” she asked him. In the dimness of the room, Peeta could see the tears glittering in her eyes. “Whatever happens between us will be like the first time for me because it’s with someone I’m in love with.”

“It’s not that I didn’t want to,” Peeta said quietly. “I want to be with you…so badly. And, you looked so beautiful—you always do. I just couldn’t have it happen in the back of car. I didn’t want to remember our first time like that.”

Peeta moved off the bed and walked to where she sat back against her headboard.

“The reason I stopped was because in that moment, you weren’t my date or even my girlfriend—you were…you _are_ the woman who I’m going to spend the rest of my life with, the woman who I hope will have my children and let me be her son’s father, the woman who I’m going to grow old with, the woman who I’m going to jump with.”

Katniss swallowed shallowly. “What are you saying?”

Peeta reached into his pocket and produced a small velvet box before getting down on one knee.

“This was my grandmother’s and if you don’t like it, we’ll find something else. Just consider it a placeholder. I just need you to know that when you wake up, I’m going to be beside you—if you’ll have me.”

He waited for what seemed like forever.

Finally, Katniss turned to him, her eyes unreadable. “Stand up.”

Slowly, he pushed himself up and she went to stand before him.

Holding out her left hand, Katniss met his eyes. “Go ahead, put it on.” Her voice was watery and she smiled at him. “You jump, I jump, right?”

Taking the box on her bed, Peeta opened the box before shakily slipping the gold band with the large ruby atop onto her finger.

A perfect fit.

“I love you, Katniss.” Peeta pressed a tender kiss to her lips, his mouth traveling along her jaw. She shivered at the sensation and he continued to her ear, nipping at its soft tip. “Always.”

Katniss took his hand, walking back until the back of her thighs pressed to the mattress. Her eyes never left his, even when she peeled the nightgown she wore over her head and stood before him naked, except for the glowing ruby ring on her finger.

She reached to kiss him after helping him remove the plain white shirt he wore and laid back so he could caress her skin with his hungry lips.

And, when Katniss reached for the waistband of his bottoms, this time he didn’t stop her.

In fact, he helped her take them off.

++++++

**_Session #3_ **

Johanna walked up the pathway to the house, almost dreading what she might be walking into.

It wasn’t brain science, figuring out that Peeta and Katniss belonged together. They just needed to be pushed in the right direction. Enobaria once told her that the reason she and Peeta never made it was because they were too much of the same person, both calm and cool as a river.

What they needed was fire.

Johanna had been Enobaria’s.

And, Katniss was Peeta’s.

They just needed to figure that out.

As Johanna reached to press the doorbell, she was surprised to find a folded note with her name taped to the front door.

Opening it, Johanna let out a single laugh at the message:

_We jumped._

_With love, Mr. and Mrs. Mellark (and soon-to-be Kalen Mellark, too.)_

**FIN.**

Books: “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Songs: “Downtown Train”-Everything But The Girl


End file.
